Decipher the code to get the best out of your employees

Allan Scott

A Scottish Widows report has found that people find it difficult to maintain a healthy work/life balance in the face of long working days and significant commutes.

A Scottish Widows report has found that people find it difficult to maintain a healthy work/life balance in the face of long working days and significant commutes.

53% of younger workers aged 18-24 year olds feel that their lives are currently skewed towards work.

Employees

Working hours appear to be a contributing factor as the report suggests that employees spend more than 10 hours each day at work (or getting to and from it) while spending less than 3 hours a day with their loved ones.

Parents of children under the age of 18 are especially concerned about their failure to achieve a healthy balance between work and family.

Some of their concerns were:

51% of parents feel they are missing out on seeing their children grow up

41% say that work commitments force them to let their family down on planned activities

48% state they don’t have time to prepare or eat meals with their family.

Employers

Employees are looking to their employers to do more to help them achieve a better work/life balance.

60% of workers want to see their employers offer flexible working hours, while 47% want the flexibility to work from home.

21% of employees would accept lower pay if they were able to work fewer hours

58% of employers would offer employees the same level of support, regardless of family circumstances

26% of employees said that their employer offers them the level of support.

There is a growing understanding among businesses that technology and flexible working patterns can help achieve greater productivity and efficiencies in the workplace while also allowing employees to achieve a better balance between work and their personal life.

With this in mind, the business standards company (BSI) has announced a The Smart Working Code of Practice which aims to create modern workplaces that support more flexibility and collaboration to give employees a better work/life balance.

The code of practice is intended for use by organisations of all sizes and in all sectors.

Nigel Holland from Holland & Co Chartered Accountants said:

“ The above report is very interesting and it is important that people maintain a healthy work/ life balance. I often expected to find that younger workers are more work oriented and the report confirms this. It is encouraging that many Employers are helping their staff achieve the correct balance. This on many occasions will not only help their employees but could result in the business being rewarded in the form of goodwill from their staff.